Eli Lilly Stock (LLY) Gets Multiple Wall Street Downgrades

Multiple Wall Street firms have downgraded the stock of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY).

TD Cowen lowered its price target on LLY stock to $960 a share from $1,050 previously while maintaining a Buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. At the same time, Erste Group downgraded its rating on LLY stock to a Hold from Buy previously. Erste Group does not have a price target on Eli Lilly’s shares.

TD Cowen’s Steve Scala, a top four-star rated analyst, lowered his price target on LLY stock based on the outlook for the company’s financial results. Specifically, Scala cut his 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimate by $0.25, dropping it to $29.15. The analyst also noted that with a current price-to-earnings ratio of 62, there are high growth expectations for the company.

High Expectations

Erste Group didn’t provide a rationale for downgrading Eli Lilly’s rating, other than to say there are concerns about the company’s future earnings projections. To be sure, Wall Street’s expectations are sky high for Eli Lilly’s upcoming financial results given the growing demand for the company’s Zepbound weight loss drug.

Eli Lilly is also in the process of developing a pill version of Zepbound that is expected to be a blockbuster medication. Zepbound is currently taken via injection. Over the past year, management at Eli Lilly have acknowledged difficulty ramping up production of Zepbound to meet global demand. LLY stock has declined 0.35% this year.

Is LLY Stock a Buy?

The stock of Eli Lilly has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation among 18 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 16 Buy, one Hold, and one Sell recommendations issued in the last 12 months. The average LLY price target of $1,003.14 implies 34.82% upside from current levels.

Read more analyst ratings on LLY stock